# Playboy has ranked every Trek episode. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 14, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211 "2014-12-14T16:25:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/41 "2014-12-15T19:03:29Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > I think the logic is that, whether or not the episode eventually actually aired, it is not officially a part of any series. Technically, it’s just a pilot that the network didn’t pick up. Entirely possible, but I strongly disagree with this logic. “The Cage” is Trek in every way. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/42 "2014-12-15T19:11:34Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Playboy has published a lot of SF over the years by folks like Asimov, Clarke, Pohl, etc. so I’m not completely surprised to see them publish an article about Star Trek. Back in the '90s, they published a hilarious article comparing all of the Trek series to date. My favorite item on the list was: **Neelix:** Wears all that makeup to hide the fact that he’s really just Pete from _ **Benson** _. **Odo:** Wears all that makeup to hide the fact that he’s really just Clayton from _ **Benson** _. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/43 "2014-12-15T19:12:00Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “The Doomsday Machine,” Christmas Day 1969. And yeah, I was hooked too. My favorite episodes have always been Gene Coon ones. Even “Spock’s Brain” and “Spectre of the Gun”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/44 "2014-12-15T19:12:46Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Even “Spock’s Brain” and “Spectre of the Gun”? 😃 Yep, even those. :o ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/45 "2014-12-15T19:22:01Z")
There’s no way I can click the link right now seeing as how I’m sure it goes to playboy - can somebody post the top 5 and the bottom 5? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/46 "2014-12-15T19:39:00Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I tried to watch _Run Silent, Run Deep_ a while back, but it’s more of a soap opera than a sub movie. “Balance of Terror” was a sub movie, as well as being _The Enemy Below Goes to Outer Space._ The Enemy Below is a good movie quite aside from it’s being the inspiration for that episode. Well worth watching. And much better than that other inspiration, “Zero Hour.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/47 "2014-12-15T19:44:20Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > A question not quite worthy of a separate thread, but anyway: > > What was the 1st Trek episode that you ever watched? > > Mine was Changeling, 1973, when I was in New Hampshire for my grandfather’s funeral. And I was instantly hooked. “The Man Trap” on its first airing, of course. I was just going into 10th grade, an sf fan already, and I was pumped for Trek. To my delight it started good and got better. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/48 "2014-12-15T19:44:41Z")
No time to peruse the whole list, but my most-hated episode of TNG, “Genesis,” made the upper half, so I know I’m not going to see eye-to-eye with this guy… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/49 "2014-12-15T19:47:10Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Here are some of the misses: > > 1. “Spectre of the Gun,” The Original Series, Season 3 > “The Enterprise has to reenact the Gunfight at the OK Corral. On the world’s flimsiest set. Spock gives everyone a group mind-meld, which is a little progressive, I suppose” > > WHAT? That ep is considered to be one of the best of season 3. Very Twilight Zonish. Best of Season 3 is faint praise, and I prefer “Enterprise Incident” but I agree this isn’t a bad episode. The cheap sets were an important plot point, part of the unreality of the situation. Well above average for the third season and even the second half of the second season. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/50 "2014-12-15T19:50:15Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > There’s no way I can click the link right now seeing as how I’m sure it goes to playboy - can somebody post the top 5 and the bottom 5? > Thanks! Yeah. I’m not clicking that at work either. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/51 "2014-12-15T20:05:04Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > There’s no way I can click the link right now seeing as how I’m sure it goes to playboy - can somebody post the top 5 and the bottom 5? > Thanks! 1. “Shades of Gray,” The Next Generation, Season 2 2. “And the Children Shall Lead,” The Original Series, Season 3 3. “Code of Honor,” The Next Generation, Season 1 4. “Threshold,” Voyager, Season 2 5. “These Are The Voyages…,” Enterprise, Season 4 … 6. “Darmok,” The Next Generation, Season 5 7. “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” The Next Generation, Season 3 8. “Mirror, Mirror,” The Original Series, Season 2 9. “The Inner Light,” The Next Generation, Season 5 10. “The City on the Edge of Forever,” The Original Series, Season 1 ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/52 "2014-12-15T23:38:21Z")
> [@Sir\_Prize](#): > > 1. “Shades of Gray,” The Next Generation, Season 2 > 2. “And the Children Shall Lead,” The Original Series, Season 3 > 3. “Code of Honor,” The Next Generation, Season 1 > 4. “Threshold,” Voyager, Season 2 > 5. “These Are The Voyages…,” Enterprise, Season 4 > … > 6. “Darmok,” The Next Generation, Season 5 > 7. “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” The Next Generation, Season 3 > 8. “Mirror, Mirror,” The Original Series, Season 2 > 9. “The Inner Light,” The Next Generation, Season 5 > 10. “The City on the Edge of Forever,” The Original Series, Season 1 Thank You! Can’t really argue with the overall quality of those episode - the top 5 are indeed good and the bottom 5 are truly bad. I think Shades of Gray is a bit of a cheat since it’s a clip show - lazy lazy writing but basically a recap of what came before it. But then again, it’s the one with the least original content so I’m not opposed to last place. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/53 "2014-12-16T16:34:54Z")
Did anyone else notice that the best TNG episodes are, almost uniformly, ones that focus on Picard? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/54 "2014-12-16T16:39:56Z")
Two of the top 5 are original season. Probably not about Picard. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/55 "2014-12-16T16:46:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Did anyone else notice that the best TNG episodes are, almost uniformly, ones that focus on Picard? Because he and Data are easily the two best characters. Geordi, Deanna, Beverly centric shows? You knew it was going to be a snoozer. That’s the beauty of DS9. Even a Dax centric show had a decent chance of being good. And after her the odds go up greatly for other characters. Hell they could have done a Weyoun show and it would have been awesome. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/56 "2014-12-16T18:00:57Z")
Any love shown for All Good Things? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/57 "2014-12-16T18:59:48Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > Any love shown for All Good Things? Ranked #21, with this comment: > [@](#): > > 1. “All Good Things…” The Next Generation, Season 7 > TNG wrapped up with perfect symmetry — moving backward and forward through its timeline (and the Universe’s) to close with a real winner. A hundred times better than the Star Trek Generations feature film the same writers were struggling with simultaneously. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/58 "2014-12-17T00:28:59Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > 1. “Spectre of the Gun,” The Original Series, Season 3 > “The Enterprise has to reenact the Gunfight at the OK Corral. On the world’s flimsiest set. Spock gives everyone a group mind-meld, which is a little progressive, I suppose” > > WHAT? That ep is considered to be one of the best of season 3. Very Twilight Zonish. Absolutely (agree with the miss). Spock figures out that everything they are experiencing is simulated - not real. So he is able to “convince” the others that what they’re experiencing isn’t real, and that their own minds can “control” the rules of the simulation. Sound familiar to a certain movie with Keanu Reeves ? When I first saw “The Matrix”, this episode struck me as an obvious precursor in concept ! ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/59 "2014-12-17T00:33:44Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Here are some of the misses: > > 1. “Spectre of the Gun,” The Original Series, Season 3 > “The Enterprise has to reenact the Gunfight at the OK Corral. On the world’s flimsiest set. Spock gives everyone a group mind-meld, which is a little progressive, I suppose” > > WHAT? That ep is considered to be one of the best of season 3. Very Twilight Zonish. Indeed. I’d put it at least in the 100-200 bracket (“one of the best of season 3 (TOS)” is a fairly low bar, after all) – maybe swap it with the execrable “Genesis” (TNG Season 7), which unaccountably rated #193, and perhaps shuffle that bracket a bit to move SotG up a few dozen notches. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211/60 "2014-12-17T00:47:52Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I haven’t finished the list yet and I don’t agree with all his choices, but the writer clearly knows his Trek. The author is a dear friend of mine and I can confirm he puts most Trek fans to shame. (Except that he’s completely wrong about the _Voyager_ Q episodes, which are great.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playboy-has-ranked-every-trek-episode/707211.md?page=4)